Real-estate sites had some tough times last week. First, Redfin, an online brokerage for residential real estate, announced that it was laying off 20 percent of its staff, then Zillow, a service that delivers home values and lists sales, announced that it was forced to lay off 25 percent of its workforce.
But Trulia, which lets buyers find homes for sale across the United States, says it has no layoff plans and that it has enjoyed so much growth, it’s actually looking to expand.
“We are not making any layoffs. All companies need to be smart in this environment and adjust to the market movements,” Pete Flint, CEO and co-founder of Trulia, said in an interview. “As a company, we are in a strong position. We always believed that we had to be aggressive but fiscally responsible, and that is why we are in the position we are (in) today. In fact, we are still making a few select hires, where they are important to our revenue growth.”
Technorati Tags: disintermediation, real estate, real estate marketing, technology
Rudy from Trulia says:
Hi Greg!
In addition to what Pete said, we wish our Web 2.0 brethren and to those that lost their jobs all the best in these tough economic times. At the end of the day, we’re talking about people with families, many of whom we know personally and professionally.
Godspeed to everyone in our space.
Rudy
Social Media Guru at Trulia
October 20, 2008 — 9:39 am
Greg Swann says:
> Godspeed to everyone in our space.
Always the gentleman’s touch.
I think Brian told me Big-Z pulled out of Orlando. Will you be down there? If so, give us a ping.
October 20, 2008 — 9:45 am
Rudy from Trulia says:
Thank you Greg!
Yes, we will be in Orlando. I’ll give you a ping.
Rudy
October 20, 2008 — 10:11 am
J Boyer Summit NJ says:
Hmmmm, the sites did not take a hit at all, it was the poor people who work there that took the hit. I feel for them, though I am sure that most will more than land on their feet. I believe that the internet real estate model is only growing stronger and stronger with the home buying public. Only thing is, that they want the personal touch and knowledge that a good REALTOR brings to the table as well. Companies like Redfin have to bribe the home buyers to work with them, or for the most part they would have no customers!! To me that is not a good long term viable business model.
October 20, 2008 — 2:43 pm
Glenn says:
It is good to hear that some companies exercised fiscal restraint and are looking forward to weathering the storm.
October 20, 2008 — 3:23 pm
Joe Hayden says:
Regrettably, there will be tough times for many as the economy finds a new equilibrium, that is a given…
Unfortunately, I find Trulia’s model to be counter-productive to the average real estate agent. They have taken an aggressive approach to SEO that takes advantage of agents who fail to grasp how the agents naively assist Trulia in beating them out of their own markets.
Trulia is, of course, not the only one, but they are one of the most prominent. Good on them for developing their business model and so effectively implementing it, but my sentiments rest with the local companies working hard in their respective markets.
JMHO
October 20, 2008 — 8:01 pm
James Sanson says:
I am split on this I am sorry approach to see people laid off. I believe a lack of heart and innovative thinking lands people into trouble. This is a wonderful buying market, and if those companies were supporting the needs of listing and buying agents vs. just the common people they would be in a healthy position.
This article makes me want to look into spending money with Trulia – even though I do not hear there name that much.
I am betting that the cell phone listing system will fail. People are starting to hate their over communicating pocket devices, because they are never free from the master. Who is the master anyhow?
October 20, 2008 — 11:34 pm
Geoff from Florida Beach says:
Glad to hear that Trulia is keeping their employees. No doubt they’ll benefit in the longer term by not throwing the towel in like so many others.
October 21, 2008 — 12:29 am
Mike Sweeny says:
Another company which recently had a reduction of its workforce is HomeGain. They laidoff 30% of their staff in one day recently, but declined to make it known to the public. May God bless all the laidoff workers and their families during these tough economic times.
November 13, 2008 — 8:50 pm